Tangled
by qtkemi
Summary: Isabella just moved to Manhattan. She's been all over the world, and Manhattan's her new home base. Bring in Edward Cullen- fabulously rich, beautiful, and jaded. They both stood no chance.In this battle, Aimer toujours des victoires.Love always wins.


**This is a story that has been swirling around in my head for a while now. It wasn't even originally about Twilight, or anything Twilight-related for that matter. But I needed to tell it, and the Twilight characters seemed fit for the job. I know where this story is going- generally. I'll try my best to update constantly and regularly. I make no promises though. The Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Everything else is mine. Do NOT plagiarize. I really hope you enjoy the story.**

**I really need reviews critiquing the story. My main goal is to grow as a writer, and I am aware I'm not brilliant, but I one day hope to be. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I hope to form a relationship, a friendship, with my readers. So if you review my work, I'll definitely check out your work and keep up with YOU. After all, YOU are the one helping ME. It's the least I can do :)**

**I know this is a weird and very formal introduction to a story (and believe me, that is not me at all) but I don't know if anyone is reading this yet so...heh. It feels kind of dumb writing to invisible people. I'm sure I'll get over it though. Please, please, please review. Whether you liked it or didn't, tell me why. PM me, whatever. Even just to drop by and say 'hi'. I don't have to know who you are. My door is open ;) **

**Kemi :)**

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Chapter One- The Door

I leaned on the apartment door in an attempt to push it open with my back. _This isn't working out_, I thought to myself. I had already tried kicking the door open, but of course, it wouldn't budge. I huffed in annoyance and frustration.

Old Mrs. Wainwright from down the hall passed me by on her way to the elevators, shooting me a curious look. I ignored it.

_Solid wood_, the salesman had said when I went door shopping last week. _This door offers maximum security. No one gets in if the person isn't supposed to be there. The key can't be duplicated, and it opens outwardly, so you can't kick the door in. Impenetrable._

Impenetrable, alright. The stupid key wasn't working and I couldn't open the door. Why did I even bother? I'm trapped outside my own house- uh, apartment, whatever.

I just slid to the floor in defeat. The only way I was getting in was if the door was broken down. I cringed just thinking about the one thousand dollars I had spent on the stupid door. A good investment, I had said to myself. I needed to start taking safety more seriously. This was New York, not Mombasa. I sighed and took out my cell phone, dialing the number of the building maintenance staff.

Since I had recently moved in, I wasn't well acquainted with…well, anyone. I hadn't made friends with the neighbors, nor had they tried to make friends with me. As a matter of fact, the only person I consistently saw in this building was the doorman, which is sad all in itself. I moved in two weeks ago and the only pseudo-friend I had made in this building was the _doorman_. And, I think he's only being friendly towards me because it's his job.

I frowned.

"Hello, hello? Is anyone there?" The low, baritone voice coming from my cell phone brought me back to reality.

"Yes, hello? I'm Isabella Swan and I just moved into apartment 802. My door won't open." I stated. This guy better be able to help me.

"I'll send someone right up, Ms. Swan." He replied, his voice perking up considerably. Did he not get many calls? I can't imagine the door-fixing profession to be a particularly exciting one.

"Thank you." I replied politely and hung up. In a minute and seven seconds (yes, I counted) the elevator dinged and a tall man with unkempt blonde hair sauntered down the hallway.

Whoa.

I blinked. I blinked again. _This _was the repairman! He was…stunning. He was, admittedly, not my type, but I know hot when I see hot.

And Jesus, he was HOT.

Whoa.

I started returning tendrils of hair that had fallen out of my messy bun back in place. I think I even puffed my chest out a little bit.

When I see what I like, I have no shame.

I forgot all about my previous frustration and smiled the most charming smile I could muster, with my dimples and pearly whites on full display. I lowered my chin and looked up at him through my eyelashes. His jaw dropped and he stopped walking. It was rather comical actually. _Oh yeah, I'm so in_, I thought to myself, giving myself a mental pat on the back.

"Wow, you came really fast," I hedged, "I thought you would take at least five minutes."

His awe-stricken look changed into one of confusion. "Huh?" He managed to articulate. I smirked.

"My door. I bought it last week- state of the art, the guy said. It even has this special key. Well, that stupid special key isn't working, and I'd really appreciate it if you could get my door to open without having to break it," I said, explaining my situation.

Adonis look even more confused than before. "What the hell are you talking about?"

I blinked. "Aren't you the maintenance man? From downstairs?"

Just then, Mrs. Wainwright came back from wherever she had disappeared to moments earlier.

"Jasper, darling! Did you wait long? I'm so sorry! I went down to visit Mrs. Schmidt and- you know how we old ladies get!" She exclaimed, with a merry twinkle in her eye. I had never seen Mrs. Wainwright so…animated.

"Jasper", who I had intelligently surmised was not the maintenance guy, moved toward Mrs. Wainwright and kissed her on the cheek. "Helen, it's okay, I'm early anyway," he replied, smiling. "Besides," he added, turning to face me, "I was otherwise occupied." Of course, I smirked again.

Mrs. Wainwright stared back and forth between the two of us and smiled. Not a sweet old lady smile either. This was a large, devious, Cheshire-cat grin that, to be frank, crept the hell out of me. I barely managed to hold back a shudder.

"Oh, silly me! Introductions are in order! Jasper, this is my new neighbor Isabella, Isabella this is my godson Jasper Whitlock," Ms. Wainwright said, gesturing between the two of us, encouraging us to shake hands.

I was still sitting on the floor, so the whole scene was rather awkward. Jasper turned bright red and offered his hand out for me to shake. As gracefully as I could, I shook his hand, trying to use his grip to hoist myself up.

Of course, he wasn't expecting that, so he took a step forward and tripped on my ascending body, sending us both toppling to the ground- with him landing on top of me. At that moment, the elevator dinged and a man I assumed was the real repair guy walked through, pausing slightly to take in the scene.

I made a move to get up, but suddenly Mrs. Wainwright collapsed in a heap on top of us. What the…

The repair guy just shook his head, as if not believing what he was seeing.

Again the elevator dinged and all four of us turned. Two women around my age walked through and gaped at us, astonished.

Could this moment get any more ridiculous?

We all just stared at each other. One of the women had dark hair cropped in a slightly boyish hairstyle, and dark eyes. Her skin was pale, but with olive undertones. Her whole face was angular, with a slight whimsical look. She had a small mouth, with thin lips, and a slightly upturned, pointy nose. She was really short, too. We were about the same height, I concluded. The other woman was tall, really tall, with long honey blonde hair and steel colored eyes. Her features weren't as elfin as the short one, but there was definitely and ethereal look there.

They were extremely beautiful.

When I finished my perusal and the silence got to be a little too much, I opened my mouth to say something- but Adonis beat me to it. "Helen, uh, can you get of me?" he asked.

Mrs. Wainwright made a big production of rolling off him, and consequently, me. She slowly picked herself up and picked imaginary lint from her cashmere sweater. I rolled my eyes.

What the hell just happened?

Adonis followed suit, picking himself up and brushing off _his_ cashmere sweater. I could only stare from my position on the floor. I decided I might as well get up, but stayed down for a few seconds anyway. What was the point? The carpet was really comfortable.

Jasper cleared his throat. "Isabella, aren't you going to get up?"

"Sure," I replied, but I made no move to actually get up from the floor.

He stood there awkwardly.

I decided to spare the room- uh, hallway- and get up. I picked myself up and pretended to dust off the lint from my leather jacket. Too bad I didn't have on a cashmere sweater.

Jasper smiled and I winked. I could tell, we were going to be great friends. _Or maybe something more_, something whispered in my head. I grinned and Jasper colored slightly. I grinned wider.

"What the fuck?" the blonde woman spoke. Classy.

We turned to face her. The maintenance man turned to face me. "Uh, Miss Swan, I was sent here because you had a situation with your door?"

I had completely forgotten about the door, the whole reason I was in this situation in the first place! "Oh, yes, the door!" I exclaimed stupidly.

This whole situation was becoming really embarrassing and slightly painful_. Like it wasn't already?_, the mysterious voice in my head asked.

Great, now I was hearing voices in my head.

The maintenance man stared at me. Oh! The door! I need to get a grip.

"The door is jammed. It's state of the art and absolutely brand new- I got it last week. Today I tried to get in my apartment, and it wouldn't open." I said, all in one breath.

"Do you have the key?" He asked. I nodded, and offered him the key. I stood there awkwardly as he 'hmm-d'. He took the key and tried to open the door, but it remained jammed. Blasted door.

He asked me a couple of questions- he is actually really personable, although he looked like he was about to devour me…No really, he was staring at me like a starving man would stare at a piece of steak. How…uncomfortable.

I noticed that while the maintenance guy and I were chatting, Jasper moved towards the women. He hugged the tall, blonde one and bent down to kiss the short one.

_Ouch. I guess it's just friends for you!, _the voice in my head whispered. Damn it.

The blonde woman was eyeing me throughout the entire exchange, but I made sure to keep my face void of telltale emotion. I know she didn't get anything because I have one hell of a poker face. Like a blank piece of paper, my best friend, Bree, always says. I smiled slightly at that memory. Bree had such a way with words.

After Jasper and short woman's mini make out session (I could have gone without seeing that, by the way), the short woman looked up at me and smirked.

Whoa. She thought I was competition? Well, I can't blame her. I _was _eyeing up her boyfriend right before she came. And she _did _walk in with him on top of me. And he _was_ trying to surreptitiously check me out. I mean, the man was practically drooling.

But I'm not a home-wrecker. If he's taken, I back off.

"I'm going to have to break the door. I'm sorry miss." The maintenance guy said, effectively halting my thought process. I stared forlornly at my stylish and really expensive door.

"Yeah, I figured."I sighed.

He informed me that he would have to get some tools and that he might take a while. I nodded and could only watch as he ambled down the hallway to the elevator.

I turned to face the other occupants of the hallway. The four of them were chatting about something, and instead of bothering them, I sank down and sat on the carpet again. I could tell they all noticed, but only Mrs. Wainwright chose to say something.

"Isabella, dear, what did the maintenance man say?" she asked. I almost rolled my eyes. I knew she knew what the maintenance man said. They all did. I decided to humor her anyway. "He needs to break down the door and he doesn't have the tools with him."

"Oh poor dear!" she exclaimed, "We were all just about to head into my apartment. We'd be so glad to have you join us!" I looked around. The short woman looked like she was about to kill me, the tall one had a similar look, and Jasper looked highly uncomfortable.

Glad, sure.

Mrs. Wainwright grinned innocently.

I studied her for a moment and a small smile found its way to my lips. I didn't know what her agenda was, and I didn't want to hang out with Shorty and Amazon over there, but I decided I liked Mrs. Wainwright and I would go along with her sure to be insane plan.

It would be nice to talk to a neighbor again.

"Thank you so much," I gushed, trying to be charming, "I really appreciate it. Do you think we can leave the door open so I could see when the maintenance man comes back?" I smiled, dimples and pearly whites on full display again.

She grinned even wider. "Of course, dear." She turned to face the rest of the members of the group, who, much to my amusement, offered really fake grins. "We should head in then." They all acquiesced with pained looks on their faces. The short one even said "That's a brilliant idea, Mrs. Wainwright!"

Mrs. Wainwright's smile dropped as soon as she spoke. Hmm, how interesting. It seemed to me that Jasper's girlfriend was sucking up to Mrs. Wainwright, who hated her guts. And how could I tell Mrs. Wainwright hated her guts? Because of that face Mrs. Wainwright made after she spoke and because she's practically throwing her godson at me. Yup, she hates her godson's girlfriend and is trying to set him up with someone else. And that someone else just so happens to be me. I'd like to say that she's being nice to me because she's finally realized what a pleasant, amiable person I am, but I'd be lying. For two weeks, ever since I moved into the building, she has never even stopped by to say 'hi', let alone 'welcome', to me. Now, her godson and the girlfriend she clearly doesn't like show up and I'm like the prodigal daughter.

She must _really_ hate his girlfriend's guts.

We walked down the hall to her apartment and settled in. I was immediately impressed. The living room was painted a beautiful burnt sienna. Crème colored silk drapes flowed luxuriously down the windows, which offered a stunning view of central park. The couches, which matched the crème color of the drapes perfectly, were soft yet elegant. There were gold and red accents all around the room, which really brought out the colors from the Persian rug on the floor. The space was elegant and sophisticated, yet cozy and comfortable. You didn't get this type of living room on a budget. The Wainwright's were loaded. Though, honestly, in this building, with this address (Central Park West), what did I expect? Of course, they were loaded.

I thought my apartment was pretty snazzy, but it was empty and undecorated. This, on the other hand, was simply stunning.

"You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Wainwright" I turned and said to her sincerely.

She beamed. "Thank you, dear. It has actually been recently redecorated."

"It was years ago, Helen." Jasper said, looking like he didn't like where this was going.

"Don't be silly! No it wasn't." she refused, though I could tell by the twinkle in her eye that Jasper was right and this was in fact done years ago. "That beautiful girlfriend of yours recommended her interior designer to me. What was her name, again?" She asked Jasper. The short woman looked like she wanted to disappear, the blonde one looked like she wanted to scalp Mrs. Wainwright, and Jasper looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Maria." Jasper mumbled.

"Oh yes! Maria! Beautiful girl. She was such a vision." I felt bad for the short woman immediately. " I told Jasper, you can only go down from a woman like her." She continued.

Ouch.

The short woman looked like she was about to cry. Jasper immediately turned to her.

"I love Alice, Helen. And please watch what you say. Maria was a horrible person and Alice is twice the woman she ever was." Jasper and short woman, Alice, shared a look so intimate I felt the need to turn away.

It was so obvious. Any deaf, dumb, and blind person could tell they loved each other. I was not going to mess with that. I shot a look at Mrs. Wainwright.

Her lips were pursed tightly and she looked like the scheming devil she was.

I take back what I said earlier. I don't like Mrs. Wainwright.

"I think we better go." The blonde woman said, smiling triumphantly at me. I guess she still thought I was after Jasper.

Like I said before, he isn't my type. Hot, sure, but definitely not my type. And I really don't go for guys who are taken.

"Rosalie is right, Helen." Jasper said, "We should get going."

Mrs. Wainwright was quiet for a second but nodded, then offered up a fake smile.

Just then, I heard the elevator ding. The maintenance man was back. I almost sighed in relief.

"I guess I'm going to head of, too." I said, "Thank you so much Mrs. Wainwright." I turned to the rest of the group and smiled and headed out. I could have said something like "It was a pleasure meeting you all" or "It was really nice getting to know all of you", but I'd be lying.

I'm so glad I'm out of there- away from them. I smiled at the maintenance man. Well, until I saw what he was holding, then I remembered what he was about to do to my poor door.

He used his hammer-like tool to knock on the hinges of the door. The loud thud resounded throughout the hallway- and, might I add, my wallet. I saw Jasper, Alice and the blonde, Rosalie, cringe and walk toward the elevator. Another blow was all it took for a hole to form through the door.

Solid wood, my ass!

I heard the ding of the elevator as it arrived, and out of the corner of my eye, I watched them as they stepped in and pressed the button to the ground floor. If I wasn't so angry, I might have offered up another goodbye.

But I was fuming. I can't believe I paid one thousand dollars for a door that would break after two lousy hits with a hammer. Okay, maybe the hits weren't that lousy and maybe that wasn't a hammer. But it was still too easy. Whatever happened to impenetrable!

As the elevator doors closed, I could have sworn I saw Jasper wink at me, and mysteriously, the anger and tension slowly left my body. I didn't like Jasper, nor would I go after him, especially because he was taken and in love with another woman, but he seemed like a cool person.

Yup. Him and I would become great friends.

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**Ugh. I hate these super long author's notes. I'll try not to do them so often :) It's just that this is the first chapter and some explaining needs to be done. I don't want to spoil the story, but I know some of you are worried and a little confused after reading this. This is a story about Bella and Edward and Edward has yet to make an appearance. And BELLA is flirting with JASPER. Yes, I know. Just trust me. All I'll say is that I'm really into Canon pairings. Just stick with me and PLEASE REVIEW.**

**Gracias :)**


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